Offseason Q&A: Brett Swain

The San Francisco 49ers recently wrapped up veteran minicamp and are now taking time off to get ready and recharged for training camp. According to many, the team’s offseason program was a rewarding experience which enabled the players to gain understanding of the playbook while getting prepared for the upcoming season. Find out how the offseason workouts went for wide receiver Brett Swain, who enters his fourth NFL season and second with the 49ers.

Q: What was the best aspect of having an entire offseason with Jim Harbaugh and his staff?A: It’s going to help us so much. Being the first offseason we have in this program, it gives you a head start on everything going into camp. It gives you an outlook of what to expect in camp and that just builds confidence and that’s what this league is all about – confidence. The more you work, the more reps you get and the more you know what to expect from the coaching staff and what they’re asking of us out on the field, the more confident you can be when you’re out there doing it.

Q: How are you approaching training camp?A: You spend the offseason learning everything. Competition is a big part of it, but once you get into training camp, that’s when it really starts. Now that you’ve learned everything, it’s really a focus to come in to camp to start competing for everything and working for that 53-man roster and working for the team to get better and help them win in the end.

Q: What was your favorite drill of the offseason program and how did it improve your game?A: Getting out here every day and catching footballs was the biggest thing. It helped to just get the repetition on catching balls and the repetition on running plays with our offense. Being able to go through walk-throughs and jog-throughs to learn your assignment is a huge benefit.

Q: How prepared do you feel like the offense is heading into training camp?A: We’re going to be so much more prepared. Being able to be prepared gets you to the point where you can just go out to the field and react; you don’t have to worry about your assignment, you can just read the defense and react to it. That’s when big plays start happening and that’s when things start rolling along better for an offense.

Q: What do you like to do in the Bay Area when you’re not playing football?A: I love to surf. I’ve gone down to Santa Cruz a couple times to check out the surf spots there but the water’s really cold. I’m from San Diego and there’s a noticeable difference in the water – you can’t even go out unless you have a full suit on up here. But I’ve been going home on the weekends to jump in the water and do some stand up paddle board. It’s fun to get home and take advantage of the fact that I’m so close to friends and family. I’ll be there until training camp starts, just easing the mind before everything starts kicking back up again.